BAA could be under pressure to sell some of its airports after the UK Competition Commission concluded that its monopoly in the south east and Scotland is adversely affecting passengers.
The commission is set to reveal a series of reforms to ownership and regulation in the near future and will highlight BAA’s lack of rivals.
Industry watchers say this will inevitably lead to BAA being forced to sell off at least one of its major assets in England and one of its three Scottish ones.
But BAA’s owner Ferrovial, which is already feeling the strain as it attempts to expedite a £10 bn debt refinancing plan necessary following the 2006 purchase of the airport operator, has told the commission that breaking up the company will not help speed up the building of more runways in the south east which it says is the main reason passengers are suffering.
The commission will now spend the next seven months working on a reform framework of airport ownership.
By Dinah Hatch
